Written by Joshua Sosin

THC is the primary psychoactive compound in cannabis plant material, and it’s responsible for many of the amazing effects that you feel when you get high on weed.

Smoking a joint is one of the best ways to enjoy the effects of THC. Joints are just dried cannabis flower rolled up with specialized paper, so they’re easy to craft at home or pick up pre-rolled.

However, whether you’re new to cannabis or an experienced enthusiast, you might be wondering just how much THC is in that joint you just rolled. It’s a common question that we hear all the time.

We’re here to help you get a precise readout of the potency of your joints with help from some simple techniques and tips. Below, we’ll walk you through the steps for rolling better joints with the exact amount of THC content that works for you.

Visit the Mood Shop to browse our full lineup of pre-rolled joints crafted with American-grown flower. Subscribe for recurring orders to save 15%.

Table of Contents

• What Happens When You Smoke a Joint?

• How Much THC Is in a Typical Joint? What You Need To Know

  • The Size of the Joint

  • THC Potency Based on Strain

  • The Impact of Heat on THC

• Pre-Rolls or Rolling Your Own: Which Is Better?

  • Convenience

  • Consistency

  • The Ritual

• FAQs About THC and Joints

• Premium Pre-Rolled Joints From the Mood Shop

  • Cereal Milk

  • Top Gun

  • Wonder Bread

  • Kush Mintz

What Happens When You Smoke a Joint?

When consuming cannabis, THC and other cannabinoids — a group of natural chemical compounds that also include CBD, CBC, THCv, and more — enter your bloodstream through your lungs and create a powerful high.

These cannabinoids bind to the receptors in your body’s endocannabinoid system, producing effects like relaxation, altered perception, and an elevated mood. All of the pre-rolls in the Mood Shop contain hybrid strains crafted to promote specific moods, including chilled-out, creative, and more.

Find out more about how it feels to be high from the Mood Blog.

How Much THC Is in a Joint? What You Need To Know

Here are some of the key factors that can help you determine how much THC is in a standard joint.

The Size of the Joint

A typical joint contains between 0.3 grams and one gram of cannabis. For reference, the pre-rolled joints that we sell in the Mood Shop include one gram of high-quality cannabis with about 25% THCa content.

If you’re rolling your own joint at home, the size of the rolling paper you use can make a big difference in the strength of each hit. That’s because the bigger the paper, the more likely you are to add more flower to the joint — which means a higher amount of THC.

You can control the amount of THC that you get from a joint by weighing your flower on a standard food scale before you roll. You can also get a worker at a local dispensary to weigh flower and portion it out into serving-sized baggies for you.

The flower in the Mood Shop comes in orders of one gram, 3.5g, 7g, 14g, and 28g, which makes it easy to know how much bud you’re working with. In other words, the smallest package of flower you can order from us contains about enough cannabis for a big joint.

Get 1g of Dante’s Inferno cannabis flower for just $17. Subscribe to save 15% on your order.

THC Content Based on Strain

Different strains of cannabis have their own unique cannabinoid profiles, which means the level of THC varies quite a bit.

There are three main types of cannabis strains: Indica, Sativa, and hybrid. There’s no specific type of strain that has higher or lower THC content — THC levels vary from flower to flower. However, there is a general range that most strains sit between: about 10-30% THCa.

1g of Trap Cherries flower is only $17 in the Mood Shop. Subscribe to save 15%.

The Impact of Heat on THC

Not all of the THC content in a joint will reach you. That’s because when cannabis gets introduced to heat, the bioavailable levels of THC decrease because some of the cannabinoid is lost in the smoke or burned up.

In general, lighting up a one-gram joint will get you about 600-700mg of bioavailable THC, and the rest will be lost to combustion and smoke. That’s still plenty of bioavailability.

The THC concentration in our pre-rolled joints is in the high-potency range — one gram per joint — so you can look forward to an intense experience.

Learn more about the process of decarboxylation and heating cannabis from the Mood Blog.

Pre-Rolls or Rolling Your Own: Which Is Better?

If you’ve been reading from top to bottom, you already know that you can order pre-rolled joints online from a dispensary like the Mood Shop.

These joints are carefully portioned to contain a specific THC percentage for a convenient and consistent smoking experience. The result is a big win on multiple fronts: you save time, you get to try an exciting new strain, and you get the goods delivered directly to your door.

Still, there are pros and cons to smoking pre-rolls and rolling your own joints, including in terms of potency and THC content. Let’s take a look at the differences.

Convenience

There’s no contest here: pre-rolled joints are the most convenient option by far.

Rolling your own joints can be fun and satisfying — as we’ll talk about below — but there’s nothing like opening a package from the Mood Shop and having nothing else to do but light up and enjoy.

If you’re primarily interested in a quick and simple smoking experience with minimal prep, pre-rolls are definitely the best pick for you.

Consistency

Each pre-roll from the Mood Shop contains exactly 1g of high-quality cannabis flower. When you roll your own joints at home, it’s difficult to achieve that level of consistency without some hard work.

You can carefully weigh out flower at home, but the THC content of the average joint rolled by an average cannabis user is hard to pin down since it can vary so widely. Using a food scale is just about the only way to get an ultra-precise and consistent smoking experience without using pre-rolls.

If you don’t mind your joints varying in THC content a bit, rolling your own is a fantastic option. However, if you want to experience the same incredible high every time with minimal variation, pre-rolls get the job done exceptionally well.

The Ritual

There’s something special about the ritual of rolling a joint.

Choosing your rolling paper, laying out your supplies, and relaxing as you assemble the perfect spliff is almost as enjoyable as the onset of effects from the joint. It’s a calming, grounding experience that many cannabis users love and wouldn’t miss for the world.

If you’re looking for the classic joint-smoking ritual, rolling your own is the way to go. However, you can create your own weed-smoking ritual using pre-rolls if you prefer.

Roll your own joint with 1g of Jealousy flower from the Mood Shop — only $13. Subscribe to save 15%.

FAQs About THC and Joints

Q: Is it legal to smoke a joint?

A: It depends. Joints rolled with hemp-derived cannabis flower are legal in many states thanks to a piece of legislation called the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, also known as the Farm Bill.

Under the Farm Bill, “hemp” is classified as any cannabis product that contains no more than 0.3% Delta-9 Tetrahydrocannabinol by dry weight. Anything above this threshold is legally deemed marijuana, which is federally illegal.

All of the flower and pre-rolled joints in the Mood Shop meet the Farm Bill’s standards for hemp products, so you can order them online and get them shipped to many parts of the US.

In terms of smoking a joint, the best way to stay in compliance with the law is to light up in a private place.

Q: Will a joint make me fail a drug test?

A: Joints contain psychoactive compounds like Delta-8 and Delta-9 THC, so they will cause you to fail a standard drug test.

A urinalysis test can pick up traces of these cannabinoids for as long as 90 days. That’s why we always recommend skipping cannabis products, including joints, edibles, vapes, and the rest, for at least three months before an upcoming drug test.

Q: How many milligrams of THC is a good amount for a beginner?

A: If you want to start out with a smaller amount of cannabis to kick off your weed exploration, we recommend anywhere between 5 mg of THC and 15. This range is easy to find with the mild-potency gummies in the Mood Shop, including our Morning Delta-9 THC Gummies.

Some folks find that ingesting THC first feels better than smoking. However, everyone has their own favorite method of cannabis use, and experimenting with edibles and smoking in smaller amounts can help you figure out what you like best.

Q: What are the psychoactive effects of THC?

A: THC often produces feelings of calm and relaxation. It can also alter your perception, making you more aware of how your body feels and how the environment around you affects you. Certain strains of weed can also produce more fine-tuned effects like creative stimulation, energy, and more.

Premium Pre-Rolled Joints From the Mood Shop

If you’re not feeling like rolling your own joint at the moment, we have you covered.

The Mood Shop is home to a curated selection of bespoke pre-rolls that feature USA-grown hybrid strains. This weed is top-quality, high-potency, and cultivated to produce specific effects.

Here are a few of the highlights of our collection:

Cereal Milk

Cereal Milk is a specialty 1g pre-roll that produces a chill, relaxing high. At 28.02% THCa, it’s a high-potency strain that won’t overwhelm you. The joint gets its name from its scent, which is like toasted grain, creamy vanilla, and caramelized sugar. Mmmm.

Grown in California, Cereal Milk is a 50/50 hybrid carefully cultivated for total chill. It’s a crossbreed of Cookies, Cherry Pie, and Snowman strains.

Get a Cereal Milk pre-roll for only $16. Subscribe to save 15% on your order.

Top Gun

Top Gun is a nice and easy Indica-dominant hybrid that will help you relax and wind down before heading to bed. With 24.36% THCa, it’s another high-potency strain with effects that you’ll feel just a few minutes after your first hit.

This pre-roll has a scent like sugar cookies, sour orange, and spicy diesel, and it’s another powerful Cali-grown crossbreed, a blend of Atlas Star and Cotton Candy plants.

Get a Top Gun pre-roll for only $16. Subscribe to save 15% on your order.

Wonder Bread

Wonder Bread simply smells amazing, thanks to its rich terpene content. Its scent will remind you of sweet sage, warm baked goods, and fresh cream. Plus, the flavor is citrusy and earthy to invigorate your mind and stimulate creativity.

A cross of Great White Shark and Lamb’s Bread plants, Wonder Bread will help you get into that elusive flow state that you need to get some serious creative work done.

Save $15 or more on your order when you pick up five Wonder Bread pre-rolls at once. Subscribe to save an additional 15% on your order.

Kush Mintz

Kush Mintz is a pre-roll specially crafted for intimacy. Grown in California as a cross of Animal Mints and Bubba Kush strains, its unique effects and enlivening scent can bring something fresh and new to the bedroom.

With 26.79% THCa, prepare to experience a balanced, happy high that you’ll want to share with someone special. The scent of earthy pine and fresh coffee will fill the room, intermingling with the sounds of your favorite playlist to create an incredible ambiance.

Get a Kush Mintz pre-roll for just $16. Subscribe to save 15% on your order.

Looking to roll your own joints? Browse our full selection of premium cannabis flower in the Mood Shop. Use the code “FIRST20” to save 20% on your first order.

Prices subject to change.